There are a lot of people running around with ear pain. Millions of people have ear infections each year. Ear infections are most common in people under 7 years old. Children are more likely to have ear trouble because they are still growing. Ear pain isn't just caused by ear infections. In some cases, ear pain is caused by dental problems. If you didn't know that ear pain may signal something is wrong with your teeth or gums, keep reading for more information.
The Trouble with Ear Pain
Your teeth, gums, throat, sinuses and ears are all very close together. Many times, the parts of your face are separated by a thin layer of bone or cartilage. When one part of your face is hurting, it can affect all of the parts of your face. For example, when you have a sinus infection, you may have face pain, headaches, and eye pain.
Because everything on your face is so closely connected, it is possible that your ear pain may not be ear pain at all. In fact, it might be unrelated to your ear at all.
What Causes Ear Pain?
There are several dental issues that can cause ear pain. First, you may have a serious cavity, especially in your back teeth. When teeth are infected, they can cause ear pain, especially if they are infected and swollen. If you do have an infected tooth, it can cause an abscess in your mouth, which can also cause ear pain, because the infection in your tooth will continue to grow until it is treated. The nerves in your ear and the nerves in your gums are very close together, which allows pain to move to different areas of your body.
Ear pain can also be caused by wisdom teeth that are impacted. When wisdom teeth can't erupt, they are said to be impacted. They can even get infected, which causes more pain. People with temporomandibular joint pain may also have ear pain as well, since the jaw joint lies very close to the ears.
Do you have ear pain? Why not give us a call, and let us help you figure out why your ear is hurting.